Cool and straightforward x reserved and reliable
For the past few years since Zhao Xiaoyu graduated, one matchmaker after another had come to her door, but not a single meeting had worked out.
Then, just a few days after Shang Zhou came back, people in the village started saying the two of them were getting awfully close.
"I knew it! No wonder Old Zhao's daughter never liked anyone. Turns out she'd already had someone in her heart!"
"Shang Zhou sure has a way with her, doesn't he, Old Zhao?"
Zhao Defa couldn't control his daughter, but he wasn't about to give in, either. "There's nothing going on. Stop making things up!"
When the rumors reached them, Shang Zhou gave a helpless smile. "What should I do? Is it really that hard to get your father's approval?"
His troubled expression made Zhao Xiaoyu laugh. She couldn't keep the smile off her face. "I seem to remember... someone used to be just as stubborn about it!"
"Mm..." The moment he spoke, the embarrassed and angry man pulled her into his arms.
-//-
The night Shang Zhou dropped out of high school and ran away from home, some people cornered him and beat him to the ground. Zhao Xiaoyu hid in the grass beside the road, biting her lip and not daring to move.
After he left, Zhao Xiaoyu often dreamed about that night: Shang Zhou struggling desperately as he shook his head at her, stopping her from recklessly coming closer.
That scene became a pain she couldn't bear to touch.
When they met again, he looked at her with a deeply furrowed brow, as if she were a complete stranger. She forced a cold expression onto her face, too.
She tested the waters and drew closer, step by step. She understood his misgivings, but how could she let him push her away?
Reading guide:
This story is split into two volumes: After the Mulberries Fall (Part One) and Rain Falls, Returning to Zhou (Part Two)
Theme: Growing together along the way
